How to control anxiety before going to sleep: 12 tips

Some recommendations to mitigate excessive anxiety before going to sleep.

We lie in bed after an exhausting day of work. It's the moment we've been looking forward to all day, and our eyelids are asking us to close them: it's time to sleep.

We go into our wonderful room, put on our pajamas, unmold the bed and crawl in. We turn off the light and... we can't fall asleep.

What's the matter, aren't we tired enough? We are tired and we want to sleep, but, surprise! All the worries of the day, all the tension of wakefulness come to us when the light goes out. How to control anxiety before going to sleep? We will try to solve this question below.

How to control anxiety before sleep?

Anxiety is, unfortunately, part of life for many of us. One of the ways in which it can manifest itself, perhaps one of the worst, is when it strikes us just before going to sleep.

Lying down, we notice how the heart, for no apparent reason, accelerates and, no matter how hard we try to lower it, we feel it. and, no matter how hard we try to lower our Heart rate, it seems to be increasing. Moreover, focusing on our heart rate makes us even more aware that it has gone into turbo. This doesn't seem to help, given that, although tired, we are waking up, even though we want to sleep.

But it's not just our heart that keeps us awake. Lying down and trying to sleep, all the worries of the day come to mind: how will my family be? am I going to get fired? should I go to the doctor? why am I not able to get things done when it's time to? and many more questions that, in a terribly inopportune way, come at a time when we should leave our minds blank.

The more questions we ask, the more we think about everything and, of course, the more nervous we become, worsening the quality of our subsequent sleep..... These worries, together with physiological symptoms such as increased heartbeat, are one of the main causes of sleep problems. In addition, if we are too cognitively active at night, the next day we are drowsy, unfocused, we do not perform well. We cannot work well, nor are we active when we should be.

Anxiety is closely related to what we do and what we think and feel. Those who manage to control these three aspects acquire the key to take their anxiety by the horns and put it in its place: away from us.

Changing the way we do

The first thing to keep in mind is that a change of habits is necessary. It is no use doing exactly the same thing we do every day, or rather, every night just before going to sleep. If this way of living has not worked for us, what is going to make it work now? We need to change our lifestyle, we need to change what we do.

1. Watch what you eat

Eating a heavy dinner just before going to sleep is fatal for the quality of our sleep. Foods rich in salt and sugars make digestion an odyssey and keep us awake longer.

Lying down, and with pain in the stomach, we begin to regret having had that succulent kebab or pizza that we wanted so much before but now does not let us sleep and, on top of that, we are trying to force sleep.

Be careful what you eat. A light dinner, such as a salad and a yogurt, and at the latest two hours before going to bed is the best dietary advice to avoid night anxiety. to avoid night anxiety.

2. No alcohol or coffee

Coffee and tea are stimulating drinks, as everyone knows. Stimulating is synonymous with activating and, therefore, accelerates the heart and thinking and, also, can produce anxiety if too much is drunk. These are drinks to avoid after six o'clock.

As for alcohol, the ideal is simply not to drink it.. If it is drunk, at least not too late, since it affects sleep.

A good drink to help you sleep, which also helps you relax, is milk. If we are not lactose intolerant or vegan, cow's milk is a very good option, as well as easy to obtain, to have sweet dreams.

4. More exercise

Exercise is a classic for treating anxiety, not only because it makes us physically tired, which is great for getting to sleep earlier, but also because it induces a state of natural chemical happiness thanks to the release of endorphins, and reduces cortisol.

But one must be careful. It is not advisable to do too much exercise before going to sleep.. The ideal is to do it, at the latest, at nine o'clock at night. This is because it activates the heart, especially in aerobic activities such as elliptical, cycling or running.

If after exercising we notice that the heart is still racing, the best thing to do is to take note of the following recommendation.

5. Take a shower

Taking a hot shower shortly before going to sleep is a great way to help you fall asleep, as it can be a very relaxing experience.

The idea is to use lukewarm water and, if available, use a scrub all over the body.. Many exfoliants are made from salts with similar effects to bath salts, known to be very relaxing.

6. Establish constant schedules

Anxiety is often accompanied by a disorganized lifestyle, and the clearest example of this is in people who go to bed at a different time each day.

The body needs to establish constant schedulesOtherwise, it cannot get used to practically nothing. We should try to go to sleep at the same time every day, with a half hour margin at the most.

Sleeping at the same time every day regulates the circadian rhythms, allowing a natural and quality sleep. Thus, we get into the habit of falling asleep, almost automatically, at the right time, leaving little time to worry once we are lying down.

7. The bed is for sleeping, and nothing else

Many people use the bed to work with the laptop, play sports, play the console, watch TV... All of them bad choices.

The bedroom, as far as possible, and especially the bed, should be used only for sleeping.. Thus the body gets used to associate, at least what is the bed, with the act of sleeping.

8. Create a pleasant atmosphere before going to sleep

If it is not possible to make the room the place where we only sleep, either because it is a place too intimate for us or it is where we work, what we can do is, before we go to sleep, make it a more pleasant place to sleep..

As far as possible, we can change the color of the lights, the temperature, light a scented candle, play relaxing music...

With all these options, and the many more that may come our way, we can make our room a place where anxiety is not welcome and does not want to come.

9. No screens

I know it's hard not to look at your cell phone or leave your computer off several hours before bedtime, but it's the best thing to do.

Using electronic devices, especially screens with blue lights, delays the time at which we go to sleep.. Let's try to avoid having them on during the two hours before our bedtime.

Change the way we think

When we are worried about not being able to sleep, we think even more about the same idea: why don't I sleep? I need to sleep, I want to sleep! And that doesn't help, because it increases anxiety even more.

But what if we change the way we look at it? And if instead of forcing ourselves to sleep, we try to flow into rest. Forcing things is not good, because it generates tension, one of the (almost) synonymous words for anxiety and stress. How are we going to relax by forcing ourselves to rest?

Let's calm down. Sounds easier said than done, but it's all a matter of knowing the strategy.. There are countless techniques, cheap, comfortable and easy to carry, to induce the body into a state of relaxation.

1. Body scanning

Body scanning is one of the most useful relaxation techniques in bed. It is a Mindfulness technique and although its main objective is not actually to achieve relaxation, relaxation is a positive side effect of the process.

While lying down, we concentrate on the sensations of different parts of the body. We try to acquire full attention of each of the limbs, buttocks, abdomen, head, heart....

During the process, if done with full attention and care, the mind, by focusing on parts of the body, takes away the many worries that may occur to us while we are trying to sleep.

2. Accept that, at night, problems will not be solved.

A key factor of anxiety before going to sleep is worries, which can be of any kind. The problem is that, no matter how many times we think about them and no matter how many "solutions" we try to find, things will not be solved at night. As the word "pre-occupy" says, take care of it before you can even do it.

Thinking over and over again is useless if we are not going to get going and apply it.. For example, if we are worried about our health, and we want to go to the doctor, it is best to go to the doctor when we can, that is, during the day. We are not going to go around at night when we can't make an appointment.

The night is the time to sleep. It may seem very simple to give the advice that we should stop thinking about things that can only be solved during the day, but the truth is that, since we are not going to be able to do much lying down, why think about it anymore?

3. Medication and psychotherapy

However, in cases where it is necessary and where the advice described above has not proved effective, it is best to consult a professional who can study the particular case and opt for the necessary therapeutic approach.

There are over-the-counter drugs that help you fall asleep, but their side effects, such as drowsiness, do not make them at all recommendable for working life.. If they are needed, they should be taken, of course, but it is best to opt for psychotherapy or, if drugs are needed, to consult a doctor or psychiatrist.

But the truth is that in most cases, the appearance of anxiety before sleeping is due to problems in the social sphere of the person, not to physiological causes. For this reason the first option of therapeutic search is to go to a clinical psychologist, who will diagnose the possible anxiety and associated sleep disorder, opting for a whole strategy of behavioral change to get the person to stop suffering from nighttime ruminations and gain a better quality of sleep.

Bibliographic references:

• Antón, A. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral treatment in a child with bedtime anxiety. Journal of Clinical Psychology with Children and Adolescents, 1(1).
• Subirana, S. R., & Adell, M. À. M. (2014). Treatment of nocturnal agitation and insomnia in the elderly. FMC-Formación Médica Continuada en Atención Primaria, 21(2), 104-112.